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Sectumsempra
Sectumsempra is a Dark Arts curse invented by Severus Snape (under his alias of "The Half-Blood Prince") for the use against his enemies, and it soon became one of his specialities. When uttered, its effect is the equivalent of an invisible sword, slashing the target repeatedly. The injuries appear to follow the movements of the caster's wand, and thus inflicts the most damage if cast with rapid waving movements. It works best on living targets and has no noticeable effect on inanimate objects or dead ones, such as Inferi, other than slashing them pointlessly. Sometimes the slashing cuts are continual, or it could be one cut. Wounds inflicted by the curse can be cured by the spell Vulnera Sanentur''Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince''. If the wounds caused are of a certain severity, it may take three castings to heal the victim acceptably. The first time it was used to heal Draco Malfoy, the flow of blood eased up; the second time caused the wounds to knit; the third time removed the worst effects of the curse. The victim would still require medical treatment, and if Dittany is applied immediately, scarring can be avoided. Though the healing spell can heal the wounds, and Dittany can prevent scars, any body parts that have been severed by this curse cannot be grown back, as seen when George Weasley lost his left ear to it. This spell is possibly a more lethal version of Diffindo. Known Uses 's missing ear.]] *While attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and being harassed by James Potter, Snape used the spell while fighting him. James Potter, however, did not receive the full brunt of the attack due to Snape's lack of aim and nonverbal use; resulting in one deep gash upon his cheek as opposed to potentially fatal wounds to his body. *In a duel with Draco Malfoy, Harry used the curse upon him when Malfoy was poised to use a Cruciatus Curse. The result was Malfoy almost dying, proving how deadly the curse can be. *While in the Horcrux cave, Harry used the spell on an army of Inferi left to protect the Horcrux. This was to no avail, as Inferi could neither feel the gashes inflicted upon them nor lose any blood from the cuts. * During the Battle of the Astronomy Tower, Harry attempted to use the spell against Snape as he fled the school with the Death Eaters. Snape, however, deflected the spell easily, and revealed that he was the spell's creator, the "Half-Blood Prince." *During the Battle of the Seven Potters, Snape, attempting to stop a Death Eater from cursing Remus Lupin, aimed a Sectumsempra curse at him, but it accidentally struck George Weasley. George lost an ear due to his injury, which could not be healed because it was caused by a curse. Etymology Sectumsempra derives from the Latin sectum, "having been cut" (comparable to the English word "section" or "segmented"), and possibly semper, "always." It can be translated as "always cutting" or "sever forever", the latter being a pun on Snape's first name, Severus. Behind the scenes * Sectumsempra, like Levicorpus, probably escaped Snape's secrecy too, as Lupin mentions it as "always a speciality of Snape's." It may also be possible that Lupin did not know the verbal form of the spell before the Battle of the Seven Potters, but heard it during the battle and only detected it by its effect he had seen before. *The spell was engineered by Snape to use on enemies. It is possible that while inventing it, Snape's intention was to use it on his enemies back then, the Marauders. * The spell seems to manifest itself as a small flash of light in the movies. *In Part 2 of the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, unlike in the novel, Lord Voldemort first slits Severus Snape's throat using Sectumsempra before ordering Nagini to finish him. *In LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7, Harry uses Sectumsempra on Malfoy only to find out the spell has sliced him in half (apparently) painlessly. Appearances *''Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix'' *''Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince'' *''Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)'' *''Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (video game)'' *''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'' *''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1'' *''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2'' *''Harry Potter: Spells'' *''LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7'' Notes and references de:Sectumsempra fr:Sectumsempra fi:Sektumsempra ru:Сектумсемпра Category:Curses Category:Dark Magic Category:Spells invented by Severus Snape